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If you've been thinking about hosting your own website, why not start now? There are many options out there that can make it easier than you may think. For example, if you want to start a blog, you can look at a site like WordPress or Blogger. They make it simple to get started and offer templates so you can have a site that reflects your style even if you're not able to do the coding necessary to create one on your own.

Businesses in this day and age are virtually required by the market to get a website. Even if it's just a basic site that features your hours, what your company can offer, a few testimonials, people are likely to choose a company with a website versus one without. There are many free hosting options out there that can set you up with the template you need to bring your business to the 21st century.

Many businesses who need hosting automatically assume that this is an expense they must take on. However, there may be free options that make sense for your company. The first question to ask yourself is how much work you'll be able to do on your own – or your employees will be able to do on your behalf. Many free options offer little support and few tutorials, so they are typically best suited for those who are able to do much if not all of the design and programming without assistance.

The next question you need to ask yourself about free web hosting for business is whether or not you're comfortable with ads. Some free hosts do require ads, while others don't. Finally, ask yourself how much disc space and bandwidth you need. Most free hosts will have caps on both. However, it's always possible to start with a free host and upgrade to a paid one when you start to need more disc space and bandwidth.

Understanding each product, understanding the features as well as knowing what the best fit is for you can be daunting as the catalog of offerings can be rather large. So let’s take a look at the differences.

Shared Website hosting

In a nutshell, shared hosting describes an environment where websites are installed on a partition of a main server. This partition is not exclusive to one client and can be shared among a large number of clients and sites. So how are resources allocated? This is all done by the hosting provider at the administrator level and varies from company to company. There can be restrictions in place that help counter abuse, but for the most part, the amount of resources are enough for the average size website. The other benefit is that you don’t need to understand the programming language of the server operating system. Most of the time you will have some type of control panel that will allow you to control your partition, install applications and manage users among other things.

Scalability: The very nature of shared hosting is to provide a user friendly environment for simple hosting needs. However, if you are planning on scaling your website and acquire a large amount of visitors, this environment is very limited in terms of configuring the server for optimum performance. Page speed as an example is a big ranking factor and if the server is not optimally configured, this can hurt your rankings in the search engines. We definitely recommend moving to a VPS if you are considering you website as a long term investment.

Billing: For the most part, shared hosting is billed on a monthly basis and varies based on the amount of resources you want on your partition. These resources include memory, bandwidth, disk space, emails, databases and others to choose from. If you have a question regarding the resources you may need please contact us and we will be more than happy to help.

Windows Vs. Linux: Simply put, most experts recommend Linux by far for its stable environment when it comes to server operating systems.

Shared Hosting Is A Good Fit For:

Small and medium sized businesses that are in need of a brochure type website.

For SMB’s and individuals who want a simple blog or forum.

CMS type or template based websites

And if cost is an issue, this is usually a great place to start.

VPS Hosting or Virtual Private Web Hosting

A VPS hosting setup is still considered a shared environment, but comes with the advantages of a dedicated server without the high price tag. Basically instead of individual accounts, a virtual private server will act as a full server installation. Since most websites do not need the resources that come with an entire dedicated server, this has become a very popular and good alternative. Another differentiation is that in a shared hosting environment, there is not guarantee on how much CPU power or memory will be available at any given time. If a website on a shared hosting plan receives a large amount of visitors, this can cause pages on someone else’s site not to load or to load so slowly causing visitor dissatisfaction. In a VPS environment, you are basically guaranteed a certain amount of performance and this will not be affected by any bad neighbors on the server. In a VPS setup you also have more control over configuration and administration at the server level vs. account level.

Scalability: This is a much better solution for long term planning since the memory thresholds accommodate large websites. Many times hosting companies can seamlessly increase your resources to a more comprehensive plan.

Billing: If you can afford it, we highly recommend paying for a full year ahead of time when dealing with reputable companies. It is not uncommon to receive 30%+ discounts when choosing the yearly billing option. Another tip is to not set a hosting plan for auto renew if you are considering the yearly plan. Auto-renews are usually charged full price while some hosting companies will apply discounts with manual renewals.

Admin Access: VPS hosting allows for a greater control of the root access to the server. This allows for the installation and configuration of your own applications among other server level configurations. You can even setup a reseller hosting account and host other sites.

VPS Web Hosting Is A Good Fit For

Reseller Hosting – Setting up your own hosting business

Marketing firms that may host client sites

Large websites that may potentially have heavy use of databases and a large visitor base

Companies that may launch multiple sites over time

Sites that cannot be down from time to time because of server overload.

While virtually all web hosts have a 99.9% uptime guarantee, this is a bit misleading. Uptime as they define it is if your site will load, regardless of how fast it will load. Our advice and we have sites on dedicated, VPS and shared hosting is that if your site is important to your clients or makes money online, you should consider VPS at minimum. Shared hosting is hit or miss. HostingAndBackup.com has had shared hosting plans that performed magnificently for years and when we setup additional shared hosting plans from the same company, these took forever to load so were forced to switch over to VPS and host multiple sites from there.

While everyone wants to know whether they should take advantage of a free hosting site or if it's worth it to pay a little and have the pros do it, the truth is that there isn't one simple answer for everyone. The needs of one site are drastically different from the needs of other sites. For example, consider how different a personal blog's needs are from the needs of a huge online retailer who handles millions of visitors and thousands of orders per day.

To decide whether free web hosting sites are good enough for your site, start by thinking about what your needs are. Do you simply need somewhere to put your site, without a ton of bells and whistles? If so, then free may be the way to go. Do you have a ton of data you'd like to put on your site, like widgets, pictures, videos, and more? If so, then you may not like the data restrictions of free sites.

In your search for a web host, you have most likely come across the term 'dedicated server'. The dedicated server is just that: a server dedicated to you and you alone. Usually, a web site is hosted in a space that's shared by other users, hence the term 'shared hosting'. Where shared hosting may be less expensive, it also allows for slower data transfer rates.

If you need a lot of space to store large files or a large number of files, and if you want a higher degree of security, then a dedicated server may be something to consider. A dedicated server gives you full control over your web site. Conversely, if you don't have the time to keep a dedicated server up and running or you need to own your own server, then the dedicated server option is likely not for you.

Having a dedicated server means much more responsibility on your part. This is because in a dedicated server scenario, all of the maintenance is up to you. If your server happens to crash, it will be up to you to fix it. If a new version of web server software is released, the onus is on you to install it as soon as possible so that your site will be less vulnerable to hacker attacks.

Having a dedicated server also means that, despite all of the control, you don't actually own the server itself. This means that you cannot move the server to another location or perform upgrades on the server hardware. Last, but not least, the cost to obtain a dedicated server can run you into hundreds of dollars every month. This is for the dedicated service as well as the bandwidth you use as a result of the traffic your web site receives.

If you are looking for tips on finding the best web hosting sites, you have come to the right place. We have assembled information for newbies to make sense on web hosting and online backup providers.

Data compression is something that is done with many different file types. For example, in order for a web site owner to ensure their site loads as quickly as possible, they may have compressed the images on their site. But web site hosts also use data compression in order to save both bandwidth and storage space on their server.

A common type of data compression is called lossless. This is an algorithm, or procedure, which allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. This type of compression is most often used in situations where the data of the original and decompressed files need to be identical, or where not having the two files identical can result in negative consequences. Examples include executable programs, and source code, such as the kind found in the 'guts' of a web page.

Another common type of compression is known as differential data compression. This compression type is usually used by data back up companies in order to minimize the amount of bandwidth used when files are transferred. In differential data compression, only the information that has changed in a file is transferred, instead of the entire file. This way, only the new information found in the file is sent to the servers.

Additionally, here at The Web Host Guru we have found that HTTP compression can also result in faster downloading of the elements on your site by your visitors. This compression type is useful if your web host only has a limited amount of bandwidth to offer you and you have to use it more efficiently. However, understanding this type of compression can be a daunting task, and so a web host who can do this for you will be a definite plus if you are just beginning to explore web site ownership and creation.

Anyone on the hunt for a web site host or having an account with an internet provider will encounter the term 'bandwidth'. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data which is transferred over a specified period of time. Higher bandwidth will mean faster transfer of files from one location to another. Any web host can offer a number of bandwidth options for those looking for web site space.

Where web sites are concerned, bandwidth means the amount of traffic which can travel between your site and the internet itself. The amount of bandwidth you will be allowed to have for your web site will depend on the network connections that your web host has internally to their data centers and externally to the rest of the internet. Bandwidth is akin to the number of lanes on a highway, and traffic to the number of cars.

Hosting plan prices are largely determined by bandwidth, and the amount of bandwidth you require will be unique to your situation. Most web site hosts will offer monthly bandwidth allowances, which means you will have to estimate how much bandwidth your site will need each month.

Bandwidth throttling occurs when a web site customer uses a high amount of the memory on the web host's server. When excessive use occurs, many web hosts will throttle, or close some lanes of the data highway to your site, making it more difficult for visitors to get to. Should the excessive load on a host's server continue, the offending web site can face suspension or termination.

Bandwidth throttling is most often applied by web hosts who offer shared hosting services. In throttling the bandwidth of one offending customer's account, the other accounts on the server are saved from experiencing slowdowns at their own sites. Before signing up with a web host, it is always advisable to find and read their policy regarding bandwidth.

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When the time comes to have your own web site, your IP address will certainly become an important part of the equation. This is because your IP address is essential for other visitors on other computers to communicate with you. Your IP address is a unique number. And in it contains the information needed to specify networks and hosts. Any machine that is connected to the internet has an IP address.

There are two types of IP addresses today. These are IPV4 and IPV6. IPV6 is a new format, having recently been released due to the number of available variations of IPV4 addresses running out. An IPV4 address looks like this: 123.456.789.0. Where the hosting of your web site is concerned, your IP address is specified by a name, which is your domain name, or www.yoursite.com.

The domain name represents the name of a network that's associated with some kind of organization. In the United States, a specific form is usually used, which is organization name.organization type. So for example, the form www.yoursite.com refers to a server on the internet called 'www', which resides in the yoursite.com domain.

Although every machine has a single IP address, it can also have several host names, or aliases. But these aliases are mainly for service providers, as they make it easier for providers to move their services to other locations without interrupting your connection.

The best website hosting really depends on your individual needs. Our website can help you ask the right questions and dig out the best answers so that you are happy with your decision.

Even if you're relatively new to computers and web hosting in general, you have likely learned the importance of backing up your information. After all, in the event a disaster occurs, you have no recourse to recover lost information. And the thing is that not only you are vulnerable to disasters; your web site host is as well.

As much as we try and prepare for something going awry, we can sometimes be caught off guard. In the case of your web site, finding out what kind of back up your host offers is always a smart thing to do. Continuous Back Up, or Continuous Data Protection means that a web site host routinely saves the information from all of its clients web sites.

But the important thing here is to find out how often a web host will back up your data. Some will back up every 24 hours, while some may actually do this more frequently. It all depends on the nature of the data being stored on a web site host's servers. The type of back up is also something to take note of. For example, a web site host which backs up data at the disk sector level instead of just at the file level will be able to offer a higher degree of security for the information you've stored on their servers.

Of course, it isn't enough to simply rely on your web host to ensure that all of your information is safely saved. You too must take responsibility for your data. And this means keeping your own copies of your site's content. This can be done by storing it on an external drive, on a series of CDs or even on the servers of another web host. At http://www.hostingandbackup.com/ we can help not only with web hosting, but also online backup services to protect your important files.

When you upload files to or download files from your web site, there are usually two main methods of transfer. You can either use your site's web-based interface, or transfer your files via FTP with a computer program. FTP stands for file transfer protocol, and requires you to have software installed on your computer so that it can communicate with your web site.

FTP clients can generally be had for no cost. A quick search will reveal many options for free FTP clients. This fast and reliable method of transferring files requires having a server address for the FTP program to connect to. This address can be retrieved from your web site's host, usually in the profile or settings section of your web site account. You will also need the username and password of your web site account.

FTP provides convenience when transferring large numbers of files. When you upload an archive, this means that you are transferring a large chunk of files as one file. An archive can include several types of files, and an additional benefit of this format is that it automatically compresses the files, which greatly reduces transfer time.

The kinds of files that can be transmitted with FTP include images, web pages, documents and programs. However, it is important to note that any files you plan to upload to your website that aren't of your own creation were obtained with the permission of the original creator and/or owner of the files. In addition, it's advised that you list the name and content information of the creator on your site in order to provide proper credit and avoid copyright infringement accusations.

Although using FTP may seem like a confusing process for the first-time user, there are many resources available which can take you through the steps. The first place to look for advice about using FTP may be at your site host, as they may have a section of their site which is dedicated to tutorials of this kind.

Database support as it relates to web hosting refers to the type of storage your web host may offer. Different kinds of storage will be needed in order for your web site to have various functions. For example, if you want your site to have a forum where members of the online community can gather to share their thoughts, then you will likely need a PHP database. Business web sites requiring shopping carts will need access to a database like OSCommerce or ZenCart.

Many users wonder why text isn't a sufficient way to store data. After all, it does sound much simpler! However, a text database would only allow one person at a time to access it. If your web site were to become popular, how would all of your visitors be able to post their comments in your forum or order the same product from you at the same time? This is where database support comes in. Just like a spreadsheet, database support offers multiple options for organizing data, as well as allowing a large number of people to access, record and use the data at the same time.

SQL is probably the most common database in use on modern web sites. SQL stands for Structured Query Language, and represents a standard method of modifying and retrieving data from a database. It's essential that any website having database support be as reliable as possible, which will require regular maintenance and the best tech support from your web site hosting company.

Choosing the best type of database support for your website is not always an easy task. But you can contact your web host or list of prospective hosts and ask them which kinds of servers and operating systems they would recommend to you. It may also be a good idea to ask the host about the advantages and disadvantages of each option so that you can make an informed decision.

At HostingAndBackup.com our goal is to help people new to the web hosting and online backup scene to grasp how to navigate various tasks, and to understand the flexibility they have in utilizing these services. We will continue to provide useful articles that are quick to read and clear to understand so that you can learn at your own pace.